Monday, October 24, 2011

CARAGA Series: En Route to Butuan City

I was invited to become a facilitator and guest speaker of the Caraga-wide camp of VYLH (Volunteer Youth Leaders for Health) held at Butuan City, Philippines. It was the first regional camp of VYLH organized by the Caraga-based Pioneer and K4 volunteers of the said network.

The City Hall of Butuan

And I got excited after I learned that we're going to have a city tour after the camp.

We left Davao at around 9 in the morning. The ride was very smooth, all thanks to the well maintained Davao-Agusan highway. We ate our lunch at Monkayo, Compostela Valley and their native chicken tinola was the best!

Out of the blue, we decided to visit Lolong, the world's largest rescued saltwater crocodile in the Municipality of Bunawan, Agusan del Sur. Lolong was captured last month and according to the experts, there are at least a thousand of them still at large in Agusan Marsh.

We paid Php 20 for the entrance fee and Php 15 for the parking fee.

Lolong didn't show up though. :(

I would also like to share some photos of the rural landscape of Agusan del Sur:

We finally arrived at Butuan City around three in the afternoon. We went to the City Hall to attend the courtesy call.

Butuan used to be the capital of Agusan del Norte until the year 2000 when Republic Act 8811 transferred the capital to Cabadbaran City. However many of the provincial government offices are still located there, including the provincial capitol, and other Caraga regional offices of the national government agencies.

We also visited the National Museum of the city and I learned a LOT from this historical city. The museum houses several unearthed artifacts of the early civilizations that resided along the banks of Agusan River.

Around 11th century, Butuan was a center of trade and commerce in the Philippines and was the location of the prehispanic Indianized Kingdom of Butuan. Archaeological finds from that era include the nine balanghai called "the Butuan boats," and the finds in Ambangan, Libertad near the old El Rio de Butuan and Masao River.

We stayed at Luciana Inn & Restaurant located in front of the city's plaza.

7 comments:

Thanks, Chino! Butuan City is peaceful naman, although its roads were narrower than in Davao and walang taxi dito. Traffic is a bit nasty too! But yeah, I guarantee that the whole CARAGA Region is peaceful. :D

hi! thank you for an entertaining blog about our hometown Butuan and the rest of the region. i just would like to clarify that Butuan is the regional capital, has been for as long as i can remember. Cabadbaran is also a nice place & has recently been made a city. hoping you had a pleasant stay & do return for more adventures. God bless!

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